Oinari-san

Lots of aburaage are made every day at Kazama tofu maker's. We talk about a number of ca. 2000 per day! That's a lot! Most of that is delivered to different places, such as sushi restaurants, hotels, kamaboko (fish-cake) makers, even temples and kindergartens.

Aburaage are mostly used for "inari-zushi", Japanese traditional food. 

Inari-zushi are a kind of sushi or rice ball. It is a "casual" sushi, good for picnics because it is easy to eat, right from your hand. Many supermarkets sell inari, but home-made is best, as we all know. Seasoned aburaage bags are stuffed with vinegared sushi rice. Aburaage are a bit greasy so the best thing is to boil them in hot water and then let them soak in salty-sweet sauce as long as you can.

Sushi gets more tasty if you add vegetables to rice. Carrots, shiitake mushrooms, gobou root, konbu or hijiki seaweed, sesame seeds etc. gives extra flavor and of course, sushi looks more appetizing! When I first came to Japan I didn't prefer inari so much, but now I love it because of it's rich taste. 

Yesterday we ate inari-san for lunch. Matsumoto-san, a lady who also works at Kazama-tofu, made a lot of them! They were very tasty and made everybody happy…Sesame and konbu seaweed gave extra flavor. Very nice of her! :-))) 

What about the name "inari"? Inari (or Oinari) is a fundamental part of Shinto belief. It is a Japanese god (natural deity or spirit) of rice, tea, sake, fertility, agriculture, general prosperity and success. It is believed to control a good harvest and business prosperity and that's why the shape of inari-zushi is straw-bag. Sushi is also called "oinari-san".

Foxes (kitsune) are messengers of inari and it is believed they like aburaage! :-) That's why inari-zushi are served to inari god. Interestig! I like this photo a lot! :-)))